Baltimore Aquarium

Last weekend was cold and a little snowy, so we, of course, thought it would be the perfect chance to go to the Baltimore Aquarium. We got there just after the aquarium opened, and, just as we had hoped, the snow kept many people at home.

Here's a look at a snowy Inner Harbor.

The Baltimore Aquarium is the National Aquarium, and it is pretty impressive. My pictures are not going to do it justice at all. We saw lots of sharks, sting rays, some turtles, puffins, sea anemone, and lots of lots of fish.

Beckett loved the aquarium.

We all loved the dolphin show. Beckett loved when the dolphins jumped out of the water. He threw his arms up in the air and cheered. He kept asking us when they were going to jump again.

The aquarium has a South American and an Australian exhibit. The Australian exhibit is particularly impressive. I snagged some pictures of these reptile relatives.

 The dwarf caiman lives in the Amazon.

And this is the Australian freshwater crocodile.

I really like taking photos of jellyfish. Here are a few from Baltimore's exhibit.

This is a spotted lagoon jelly from the South Pacific.

We seem to see the moon jelly at a lot of aquariums.

We also saw the pacific sea nettle in Monterey.

As if those other jellys weren't wild enough, here's the upside-down jelly. Instead of swimming it hangs out on the floor of shallow seas.

We might have to go back on another snowy day.

Air and Space

We are doing our best to squeeze in some fun before this baby comes. We went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum out by Dulles on New Years Observed.

Seeing a space shuttle was definitely a highlight of the trip. This is the Space Shuttle Enterprise, and it hasn't actually been to space. It was used for tests on the ground and in the atmosphere. Check out how big it is. We read in a recent National Geographic that now that the space shuttle program has come to an end that the Smithsonian will house the Space Shuttle Discovery.

The SR-71 is also huge.

A Huey medical helicopter from the Vietnam and Korean Wars.

Beckett enjoyed this museum. He especially liked the helicopters and the little model planes. He kept saying "another plane, more planes." The museum has an upper walkway that allows visitors to look down on the planes displayed on the floor and get eye level with the suspended planes. You can see the supersonic Concord in the background.

The museum also has an observation tower where you can see some really nice views and watch the planes land at the Dulles Airport. This was also a highlight for Beckett.

Happy New Year

In the Stephens' household we aren't sad to say goodbye to 2011. Welcome 2012!